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Sam eased back and placed a soft kiss on my lips. “Sorry for what? Don’t be stupid. Don’t be ridiculous. I love you and BeLew. I’m surprised, yes, but I’m happy.”
“How could you be happy, you crazy man? If Dean finds out, you’re dead. And pregnancy is hard to hide. Harder when you’re in bed with the person you’re trying to hide it from.”
Sam brought his mouth to mine again, and I felt the passion pass through his lips to my soul. We kissed for minutes and I lost focus on the problem. When my body relaxed, he wrapped my legs around his middle and entered me, slower this time. Even and unhurried, he filled me completely.
Moving his mouth to my ear, he whispered, “We need to escape. We’ll leave the ship. Not in nine months. We leave now, Row.”
I nuzzled my face into his neck and made myself believe he had a plan. With every stroke of him inside me, I told myself we would figure it out, together.
Before we left each other, I no longer needed convincing. We would leave this ship, together and safe… tonight.
Lori paced her cabin and whisper screamed at me. “Well, I was always team Sam, but he’s fucking insane.” It was the middle of the night and all the boys were asleep. I stayed with Lori overnight, and Dean could take all the whores that he wanted back to our room. I had my hall pass to be away from him.
I held my finger to my lips, urging her to chastise me in a lower tone. “He’s lost his goddamn mind,” she hissed. “We don’t know what’s going on out there. The reason we’re on a ship is to avoid certain death — death that is coming at us from all directions. There hasn’t been one day this ship hasn’t been moving, and it’s moving away from something, you know?”
I raised my hands to her shoulders, urging her to sit on the bed with me. “Yes, I know.”
She pulled away and continued to pace. “It’s moving away from death. Did I mention the death?”
I sat on the bed and crossed my arms. “What the fuck do you think this ship is? Because it’s no safe haven. So far, we have had people zip-tied and thrown overboard and slave laborers fed half rations and forced to work in a drug den — a den that has symbols from the Assembly of the Eternal. If Dean knows about my premonitions, and your sons know about BeLew’s, how long before people outside our tight circle know?”
Lori lowered her shoulders and hung her head. She knew I had a point.
“This place is a ticking time bomb for my family. Not to mention if I’m pregnant, I’m completely fucked. The only reason Sam is still alive is because Dean thinks he’s slowly winning me over. If he finds out I’m pregnant, I will have no choice but to depend on him fully. Sam will be as good as dead. It’s not safe here, Lori. This ship is my death sentence.”
“What symbols from the AOE?” Lori snapped.
In the chaos of revealing all my life’s secrets and the latest happenings to Lori, I had missed that one. “Before you freak out, I simply forgot to mention it. I wasn’t keeping anything from you.”
“I’m not fucking freaking out!”
I paused and took a deep inhale, lifting my chin before I spoke. “I found the old fire and waves clothing pins in a cabinet. I’m not sure if Dean knows I saw it. He walked in as I found them. He seemed more occupied with telling me about all the screwing he was doing tonight, so who knows. Also, I think you are freaking out a little. Just a little.”
“And you’re a little pregnant.”
I pursed my lips and crossed my arms. “Point made, but calm down before you wake up the boys.”
Lori whined and sat down next to me on the bed. She put her face in her hands and lay down, resting her head in my lap. “I think they already have drugs here,” she sniffled.
I played with a strand of her hair. “The poppy isn’t ready.”
“Dean brought something into the kitchen today. I think the party tonight is to introduce the product, get people hooked.”
“Well, he got me and the boys on board, so I’m sure a gallon of white powder wasn’t too hard to smuggle as well. It proves my point. Things are getting worse, not better. It is for me, at least. I hate that I’ve dragged you into it.”
“Not your fault. Dean had a plan before I stepped into that kitchen. I’m panicking because you know this means the boys and I have to go, too. I can’t survive here without you. We go together, or you don’t go at all.”
I stroked her hair, and my heart raced. I’d known Lori for such a short time, but I understood her. There was no changing her mind, and I felt selfish for not wanting to. I needed her with me. She grounded me in a way only good girlfriends can. They supported your crazy while nudging you in the right direction. I was good at survival, but Lori helped me live.
So much like my sister. My sister whom I let die because of a man.
“I suppose you’ll want Luke to come,” I gulped.
Her shoulders moved on my legs with each deep breath. She crept her hand up to mine and intertwined our fingers. “He’ll make the right choice when the time comes. When do we leave?”
I bit my lip to stop myself from snapping at her. Lori had decided about Luke. I told her I trusted her. The topic was dead.
“We leave tomorrow.”
